


Avengers Endgame: The Real Story

by RavenWolf48



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Avengers Endgame, Avengers Endgame Rewrite, Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Awesome Pepper Potts, BAMF Tony Stark, Bucky Barnes Feels, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Deleted Scenes come true, Endgame didn't happen, F/F, F/M, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt Tony, M/M, Marvel ruined my life, Multi, My version of Endgame, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Parent Pepper Potts, Pietro is alive, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Protective Pepper Potts, Protective Steve Rogers, So here I am fizing it, Soul Stone, Steve Angst, Steve Rogers Feels, Steve cares about Bucky, Steve doesn't go back, Steve stays with Bucky, They all should have come back, Time Travel, Time Travel to fix Time travel, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony is alive, Tony should have survived, What-If, natasha is alive, what should have happened
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-22
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2020-07-10 10:22:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19904170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavenWolf48/pseuds/RavenWolf48
Summary: I did not like Endgame one bit and therefore I made this.Basically an entire remake of Avengers: Endgame with some twists, major changes, and a happier ending.In basic terms, the Ending we deserved.(Might become a series where, I continue the rest of the movies in this universe.)(Will look very similar to the script because I'm literally taking the script, rewriting some bits, and then making it a story form)





	1. Prelude

******“Okay hold on,” Clint Barton watched his daughter nock an arrow into the bow, keeping his eyes set on her carefully.**

“Don’t shoot,” Clint continued, fingering the arrows in his hands as he looked at Lila. “You see where you’re going?” 

“Mhm,” Lila responded, closing one eye as the bow dipped slightly before she righted it. 

“Okay, now let’s worry about how you get there,” Clint came in and gently nudged Lila’s foot. “Put your foot this way. Here.” and adjusted her arms and fingers. He stood right next to her and over at the target, thumbing the other arrows still in his hands. He smiled crookedly. “Can you see?” 

“Yeah,” Lila responded eagerly, looking anxious to shoot.

“You sure?” Clint raised his eyebrows. 

“Mhm,” Lila nodded. 

Clint grabbed some of her bangs and gently danced them in front of her eyes playfully. “How about now?” Lila giggled and Clint chuckled, pushing the hair back. 

Clint turned slightly to see his family down on the hill. Laura had set up a table of food. Cooper and Nathan were playing catch with a baseball. He watched them for a moment, thinking of the recent argument he had with Laura. Him and Laura, they were...on rocky ground to say the least but they would keep appearances. With all the crazy that had happened two years ago, they wanted to make sure that their kids would feel safe. 

After a moment, Clint turned back to his daughter. “Alright, ready your fingers.” 

Lila shifted a little bit and moved her fingers slightly. 

“Hey, you guys want mayo or mustard or both?” Laura shouts from behind them and Clint turns again, frowning slightly. 

“Who wants mayo on a hotdog?” Lila frowned. 

“Probably your brothers,” Clint shrugged. “Uh, two mustard please! Thank you!” Clint looked back to his daughter and grinned at her. “Alright, mind your elbow and shoot,” Lila lifts up a little bit and lets go of the arrow. It hits directly into the bullseye and she grins happily. 

Clint laughs. “Alright! Good job Hawkeye,” He claps his daughter’s hand who is grinning widely. “Go get your arrow,” Lila turns to go get it as Laura shouts again, saying that dinners coming. 

“Alright, we’re coming!” Clint shouts back and turns around to get Lila. “Lila -” he stopped, staring at the scene in front of him. He just caught the silhouette of his daughter before it faded into dust. His heart sank. “Uh, Lila? Honey?” 

He walks to where the dust is and gently touches it, looking around. “Oh shit,” he muttered, before standing up and hearing a scream. He walked fast around the tree and saw Laura standing next to the table before running towards where the boys were and all that there is now is dust. 

Clint ran towards Laura who was screaming and crying. “They’re gone!” Laura was sobbing. “I saw it, they’re gone, they just - just turned to dust - no - !” 

“Hey hey hey,” Clint quickly crowded her space, pulling her tight to him. “It’s okay, it’s okay -” 

“It’s not okay!” Laura pushed away from him, rubbing her eyes. “This is all your f -!” She cut herself off, holding her face. She sobbed quietly into her hands and Clint took a step back. “I - I know you love me...but this is just...this is too much.” She took a deep breath and looked at him. They looked at each other for a moment before she whispered, “Lila?” 

“Dust too,” Clint replied. 

She let out another shaky sob and waved her hands. “Leave.” 

Clint’s mouth opened slightly. “You - you can’t possibly blame this on me!” 

“Well what was it?” Laura snarled. “Some sort of government made machine?  _ Obviously _ this has villian shit written all over it!” 

“And how is that  _ my  _ fault!” Clint yelled. 

“Because  _ you’re _ a super hero!” Laura screeched. “If you weren’t  _ known _ by the entire world - then we would all be safe and none of this would’ve happened!” 

“Are you actually -!” Clint cut himself off, chuckling slightly. “You know what? Never mind. I’m not going to argue. Our kids just  _ died _ and this is really what we’re going to be doing?” 

“Leave.” 

Clint recoiled. “What?” 

“I don’t care what you do.” Laura’s voice was stoic. “I don’t care what happens to you. But until this is solved, I never want to see you again. So leave.” 

Clint stared at her, eyes roaming for anything that might change her mind. But nothing. There was nothing. 

Clint and Laura always had a rocky relationship and this was the last straw apparently. 

“Fine.” 

Clint turned around and walked away. He ignored the soft thud of her knees hitting the ground. He ignored the soft cries he hear and ignored the pain growing in his chest. 

He tried to salvage this family, tried to make it seem like he actually cared, but it seemed as though Laura was too stressed out, too done with his world to really care. 

He picked up his things and left.


	2. SPACE & AVENGERS COMPOUND & NEW TITAN 2018

**“** **_Dear Mister Fantasy play us a tune~. Something to make us all happy~. Do anything take us out of this gloom~. Sing a song, play guitar~_ ** **”**

Whoever this Quill guy was, his playlist was _really_ outdated, Tony Stark thought bitterly through the pain of his chest. 

“Wrra!” Nebula looked close to fighting him and jabbed out at the paper football that Tony flicked at her. He winced and held back, twisting his mouth. 

“See, you don’t need to do that,” he pointed out and she glanced at him. “Because uh...you’re just holding position.” Nebula frowns. “Uh. Flick it back at me. Here, I’ll do what you were doing,” he laid his wrists on the table and held out his hands to make two ‘L’s that joined at the thumbs. “Go on. Try it.” 

Nebula gingerly picked up the triangle folded shape of paper and Tony instructed her on how to hold it before she flicked it at him. 

“Oh yeah, that was close.” Tony nodded approvingly and gently flicked the paper back at her. She flicked it again and it went over Tony’s fingers. Tony looked up. “That’s a goal. You’re one apiece.” 

Nebula gave him a brief look before saying, “I would like to try again.” her voice was hushed and stoic, showing little to no emotion but that was Nebula. 

Tony nodded and flicked the paper back at her. Nebula flicked it again and made another goal. “We’re tied up.” Tony announced. “Feel the tension? It’s fun, I told you,” Tony waits for Nebula to make her own goal and then flicked it back at her. It barely even made it. “That was terrible.” Tony commented, making small talk as Nebula observed him like she always did. “Now you have a chance to win.” Nebula regards him before flicking the paper again. 

It went through Tony’s hands and he gestured to her. “And...you’ve won. Congratulations.” Tony swipes the paper slightly and moves to shake Nebula’s hand over the table. “Fair game. Good sport. Nice job.” Nebula hesitantly shakes his hand. “Have fun?” 

Nebula pauses. “It was fun.” 

“Great.” Tony shook his head and stood, hissing as he padded the side of his chest where Thanos had sliced him. “I gotta make a call.” he grumbled, slowly making his way to the main cockpit where his destroyed and busted helmet was. He gently slid down to the ground sighing as he gently tapped the helmet. 

“This thing on?” Tony mumbled and a blue scan lights up, fanning him before disappearing. There was an audible click and Tony took a deep breath, laying down against the wall of the Benatar. “Hey, Miss Potts...Pep. If you find this recording, don’t post it on social media. It’s gonna be a real tear-jerker. I don't know if you're ever going to see these. I don't even know if you're... if you're still…” Tony wiped his face, his normal facade slipping. “Oh god, I hope you’re still…” Tony took a deep breath and continued. 

“Today is day 21, uh 22.” Tony corrects himself, looking over at the cockpit’s window and showing the infinite abyss of space. It was beautiful once. Not so much anymore. “You know, if it wasn't for the existential terror of staring into a void of space, I'd say I'm feeling better today. The infection's run its course, Thanks to the blue meanie back there.” Nebula doesn’t normally eavesdrop on his conversations and when he glanced over, today was no exception. Nebula left to a different room after their little game of table football. 

“Anyways, you'd love her.” Tony adds casually, turning back to the helmet. “Very practical. Only a tiny bit sadistic. Some fuel cells were cracked during battle, but we figured out a way to reverse the ion charge to buy ourselves about 48 hours of time.” 

He remembered the screeching of the engine and the lights flickering with small fires staring around him, crackling as he glanced around the engine room, wondering how long, exactly. this would take before it would end. 

And today was that day. “But it's now dead in the water. We're 1000 light years from the nearest 7 -11. Oxygen will run out tomorrow. And that'll be it.” Tony’s voice broke again and he took a shuddering breath. “And Pep, I ... I know I said no more surprises, but I was _really_ hoping to pull off one last one. But it looks like... well you know what it looks like.” 

Tony took a deep breath and leaned forward, covering his mouth and gesturing with his hands. “Don't feel bad about this. I mean, if you grovel for a couple of weeks, and then move on with enormous guilt. I should probably lie down. Please know that... when I drift off, I will think about you. It's always you.” he taps the helmet slightly, blinking back tears. He took a deep breath and gently clicked the helmet off. He rubs his thumb over the left eye, and then leans down, next to it. He took a deep breath and gently closed his eyes, letting sleep take him. 

Nebula was soft and she padded over to him, gently picking him up. She placed him on the seat and draped a blanket over him. Her fingers slowly left and she walked away again, trying not to feel too soft.

Tony was sleeping soundly when a light started to irritate him. His nose twitched and his eyes squinted while shut. The light just got brighter and eventually Tony groaned and opened his eyes. He held his hand and squinted through it, looking at the source of the light. 

Tony’s mouth dropped open. 

It was a _woman_. 

“Who…?” Tony whispered, eyes widening as he slowly stood up, the blanket slipping off of him. He looked at the blanket in surprise and then tripped on the edge and he nearly toppled over but a hand grabbed his shoulder and gently pulled him back. 

Nebula came around his side, staring at the figure as well. The woman gently rapped on the glass and Nebula walked down the steps, clicking a button on the console. 

“Can you hear us?” she murmured. 

“Loud and clear,” the woman responded, her voice echoing in the desolate ship. “This thing awake?” 

“No,” Nebula replied. “Dead in the water. No power left.” The woman frowned. 

“Hmm, well it shouldn’t be a problem.” She tapped her lip and looked back at Tony. “I was sent here to pick up a Terran. Any idea where Tony Stark might be?” 

Nebula paused and then slowly looked over at Tony. Tony swallowed and waved his hand. “Hi.” 

The woman smiled. “Hi Tony Stark. My name’s Carol. Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, Bruce Banner, and James Rhodes sent me. Ring any bells?” 

“Rhodey -!” Tony stumbled forward, voice raspy as he tripped again. Nebula quickly caught him and Tony nodded vigorously while Carol looked down at him in concern. “Yes, yes, I know them - I - how is it not a problem?” 

Carol’s concern was wiped away with a smile. “Don’t worry about it. You guys just prepare for landing.” She swooped down and disappearing, streaks of yellow and blue lighting around her. Tony watched her through the glass floor of the ship until she properly disappeared. 

And then they started moving. 

“Where is she taking us?” Nebula frowned. 

“Home,” Tony rasped, smiling as the space opened to a portal for hyperspace. “She’s taking us home.” 

There was a low rumbling and then they shot through, heading towards C-53. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Steve Rogers gently tapped the edge of the razer to the sink, leaning over it as he sighed. He craned his neck back, gently rolling and looked into the side mirror. He looked at his face, rubbing his lips together when the mirror started to shake. Steve frowned and leaned over to hold it. 

It continued to shake through his fingers and he let it go to see it violently begin to shake. In fact the whole building was shaking. He slowly walked out of the bathroom and towards the main room and then to the exit. He made it out to the yard in front of the Compound where Miss Potts, Natasha, Bruce, and Rhodes were standing. 

Natasha saw him and gestured upwards. Steve looked up to see a glowing light that had to be Carol, carrying a ship. Steve jogged over to the other four where they were all standing. “He’s here,” he whispered and Natasha nodded. 

Carol landed the ship and they watched from afar, looking in shock and disbelief. Carol looks over at them, a look of concern written all over her face. Steve’s heart dropped and he watched Carol walk over to them, glancing at the back where the ship opened. 

A blue lady exited, holding Tony who looked like utter shit. Steve glanced at Rhodes and Miss Potts but Potts gently pushed him. 

“He’ll want to see you,” she urged. Steve moved to disagree but Potts cut him off by pushing him a bit more firmly. 

That’s all it took and Steve was running - sprinting - more than halfway over the field where Tony was slowly making his way to. In a fluid move, the blue lady let go of Tony and Tony fell forward like he could barely stand on his own and Steve stooped down, gently grabbing him and helping him up. 

Tony put his head in the crook of Steve’s neck and Steve shut his eyes. There was a shaky breath and then Tony pulled away and Steve looked at him and god, that was a bad decision because Tony was _crying._ He’d never seen Tony cry and seeing it made him wish he never would. 

“I couldn’t stop him,” Tony rasped. 

Steve gave a dry laugh. “Neither could I,” 

There was a pause as Tony looked over at everyone else, jogging to catch up.

“I - “ Tony gave a short laugh. “I dunno what to say. A few hours ago, I thought I was going to die.” 

Steve’s heart clenched and he wanted to say something - anything - but then Rhodes caught up and was looking at Tony in concern. 

“I’m fine, Capsicle here has me,” 

The nickname is jarring; Steve hasn’t heard it in literal years and he shakes his head, trying to clear it. 

Tony patted him and then swallowed hard. “Rhodey I - “ Tony’s breath caught and his eyes watered. “ _I lost the kid_.” 

Rhodey frowned for a moment but then his face turned into an expression of horror and he swallowed. “Oh god, Tony -” Rhodey shook his head as Tony held onto Rhodes’ arm as his other hand was wrapped tight around Steve’s wrist. “I’m sorry. We - We uh, we lost a lot here too. Wanda. Vision. Sam.” 

“Pepper?” Tony whispered hoarsely and Steve’s own heart dropped again, for a split second thinking she was gone when Pepper pushed through and smiled at Tony, eyes watering. “Oh thank god,” Tony breathed and Pepper leaned in and hugged him. He let go of Rhodey but his hand was still clenched around Steve’s wrist. 

“It’s okay,” Steve muttered, gently trying to pull away from Tony so he could focus on Rhodey and Pepper but apparently Tony wasn’t having any of that because he just gripped tighter. 

“Hey guys,” Natasha spoke up from the side next to Bruce. “Let’s head inside. We’ve got a lot to go over.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“It's been 23 days since Thanos came to Earth.” Natasha spoke like a true official as everyone gathered around the table. Tony was in a wheelchair and hooked up to several things. Steve was standing behind him along with Rhodey mostly because whenever either would walk to the other side of the table, Tony started getting antsy. At one point, Steve was on the opposite side and started walking even further away but stopped when Tony actually lurched out of the wheelchair for a brief moment. Steve and Rhodey stayed behind him after that. 

The faces of the dusted passed in front of them on screens while Natasha continued to talk. “World governments are in pieces. The parts that are still working are trying to take a census. And it looks like he did…” Tony must’ve recognized one of the faces because he looked away and refused to watch it anymore. “...exactly what he said he was going to do. Thanos wiped out fifty percent, of all living creatures.”

“Where is he now?” Tony spoke. He looked around as everyone began to shake their heads. “Where?”

“We don't know.” Steve walked over to the side and leaned against it, crossing his arms before gesturing. “He just opened a portal and walked through.”

There was a pause and then Tony pointed over to Thor who was sitting in a different corner. “What's wrong with him?"

“Yeah, he's pissed.” Rocket hopped up and Tony startled. “He thinks he failed. Which of course he did, but there's a lot of that's goin' around, ain't there?”

“Honestly, until this exact second, I thought you were a Build-A-Bear.” Tony cracked a joke and Steve gave a small smile. 

“Maybe I am.” Rocket muttered. 

“We've been hunting Thanos for three weeks now.” Steve started. “Deep Space scans, satellites, and we got nothing.” he paused. “Tony, you fought him -”

“Who told you that?” Tony interrupted and his cold tone showed that he had a change in mind. Steve sighed and nodded, looking down slightly as he knew what was coming. “I didn't fight him. No, he wiped my face with a planet while the Bleecker Street Magician gave away the stone. That's what happened. There was no fight.” Tony’s voice was harsh and Steve receded, giving him. 

“Okay, okay...did he give you any clues, any coordinates, anything?” Steve asked, trying to keep his voice even and soft.

Tony gave him a look,”Oh, pfft!” Tony made a gesture of his brain cutting out. “I saw this coming a few years back. I had a vision. I didn't wanna believe it. Thought I was dreaming.” He was rambling now and Steve swallowed. He knew Tony was exhausted and he knew that he was only happy to see Steve because he almost died. He knew what was coming but he needed Tony for a just a little bit longer. 

“Tony, I'm gonna need you to focus -” he tried to reign in the conversation to bring it back to Thanos. 

“And I needed you.” Tony snapped. 

Oh boy. 

“As in past tense.” Tony continued. “That trumps what you need. It's too late buddy. Sorry. You know what I need?” Tony stood roughly and pushed things off the table. Rhodey moved over to him and Steve thought about it but Tony was too angry. He didn’t want to go anywhere near the genius. “I need to shave. And I believe I remember telling you, Cap -” 

Steve stood back a little as Tony made is way over and this time Rhodey did quick go in and try and stop him, firmly trying to push him back. 

“Tony - Tony!” Rhodey, tried to grip him and push him back as Tony’s voice rose a little bit, “Otherwise what we needed was a suit of armor around the world! Remember that? Whether it impacted our precious freedom or not- that's what we needed!” 

Steve was tempted to bite back but not only did he feel like just not fighting, he knew Tony needed this. Needed to just vent. Yes he liked the attention and the nice, exhausted Tony from before but this would have had to come out at some point. 

“ I said, "we'll lose". You said, "We'll do that together too." And guess what, cap? _We lost_ . You weren't there. But that's what we do, right? Our best work after the fact? We're the Avengers, we're the Avengers. Not the Prevengers, _right_?” Tony was full on ranting and looked absolutely furious. Clearly everything was coming out now. 

“Okay, you made your point. Just sit down, ok?” Rhodey tried valiantly to get Tony off Steve’s back and he appreciated that. 

“Nah, nah, nah.” Tony snarled, pushing Rhodey away. “Here's my point.”

“Sit down!” Rhodey demanded fruitlessly. 

Tony made a side comment, pointing to Carol, “She's great, by the way. We need you. You're new blood.” Carol gave him a look and then looked at Steve who looked away. 

“Tony!” Rhodey tried again.

“Bunch of tired old mills!” Tony flailed his hands, gesturing to all of them. “I got nothing for you, Cap! I got no coordinates, no clues, no plan, no options. Zero. Zip. Nada. No trust. _Liar_.” 

The words stung and Tony was right up there next to him. Steve stared at him and he swallowed, seeing more than he wanted to. Tony looked affected by even his own words. As if he was thinking of better times - trying to at least, but the scenes of Civil War were still fresh. 

Steve still stood by what he had chosen, he still believed he was right. And Tony believed it too. Or at least seemed to be trying to. 

Then Tony ripped off his arc reactor and Steve startled as he pushed it into Steve’s hands. “Here. Take this. You find him, and you put that on.” Tony snarled slightly. “You run. You hide.” Tony turned and started to fall. Steve was frozen, gripping the arc reactor as Rhodey caught Tony. 

“I’m fine…” Tony muttered, sounding dizzy. “I…” and he promptly fainted. Rhodey held him for a moment and then looked over at Steve before sighing. 

“You - that meant nothing, just, it’s Tony...he rants a lot,” Rhodey tried. 

“No,” Steve rasped. “No, I deserved that.” 

Rhodey frowned before helping Pepper who walked over with Tony. Bruce was there in minutes too and they lifted Tony to the medical wing where Bruce sedated him. Natasha was watching Steve but Steve tried to bounce back from that. Key word, try. 

“Bruce gave him a sedative.” Rhodey finally said. “He's gonna be out for the rest of the day.”

“You guys take care of him.” Carol said abruptly, turning to move. “And I'll bring Xorrian Elixir when I come back.”

Excuse me, where are you going?” Natasha looked at Carol, affronted. 

“To kill Thanos.” Carol raised her eyebrows.

“Hey, you know, we usually work as a team around here, and between you and I, we're also a little fragile.” Natasha said. 

"We realize out there is more of your territory, but this is our fight too." Steve said firmly. 

"Do you even know where he is?" Rhodey rolled his eyes, looking at Carol who shrugged. 

"I know people who might." She responded. 

"Don't bother." The blue lady stood up. "I can tell you where Thanos is. Thanos spent a long time trying to perfect me. Then when he worked, he talked about his great plan. Even disassembled, I wanted to please him. I'd ask 'where would we go once his plan was complete?'. His answer was always the same: To the Garden." Her voice was soft but rough and Steve watched her slightly. 

Rhodey laughed. "That's cute, Thanos has a retirement plan."

"So where is he then?" Steve cut in, looking at the lady. 

"When Thanos snapped his fingers, Earth became ground zero for a power surge of ridiculously cosmic proportions." Rocket interrupted, hopping onto the table and pointing to the hologram. "No one's ever seen anything like it... Until two days ago." The hologram of a planet pops up, with a shockwave visibly traversing the surface. "On this planet."

"Thanos is there." The blue lady whispered. 

"He used the stones again." Natasha leaned in. 

"Hey, Hey," Bruce quickly cut in like he knew where this conversation was going. "We'd be going in short-handed, you know."

"Look, he's still got the stones, so..." Rhodey pointed out. 

"So let's get him..." Carol said suddenly. "We'll use them to bring everyone back."

"Just like that?" Rhodey said. 

"Yeah, just like that." Steve nodded. Carol looked over at him and nodded.

"Even if there's a small chance that we can undo this..." Natasha stood up, looking around. "I mean we owe it to everyone who's not in this room to try."

"If we do this, how do we know it's gonna end any differently than it did before?" Bruce interrupted, trying to get their attention. 

"Because before, you didn't have me." Carol commented. 

"Hey, new girl, everyone here is about that superhero life." Rhodey called her out, rolling his eyes a little. "And if you don't mind my asking, where the hell have you been all this time?"

"There are a lot of other planets in the universe." Carol shrugged. "And unfortunately, they didn't have you guys."

Thor, who has been eating a snack behind all this time, stands up and walks over to Carol. He holds his hand up, and she stares at him as Stormbreaker flies over to him, missing Carol by inches. But Carol doesn't even flinch, instead smiling at the God of Thunder. Steve watched the whole interaction before looking at the hologram table.

"I like this one." Thor grinned, leaning on his hammer. 

"Let's go get this son of a bitch." Steve announced

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“Okay, who here hasn't been to space?" Rocket asked from the front of the ship. Steve was sitting behind him and Carol was on the other side of Rocket. Natasha was sitting next to Steve, looking around the ship. Thor, Rhodey, and Bruce were lined up behind Steve and Natasha. 

Steve raised his hand dutifully and Natasha slowly raised hers, half glaring at everyone. Rhodey raised his after a look from Thor. 

"Why?" Rhodey asked. 

"You better not throw up on my ship." Rocket cackled. The blue woman was sitting in front of them and she was messing with the controls.

"Approaching jump in 3... 2... 1!" The blue lady said and the ship 

The ship jumps forward into a wormhole, and Steve lurched, gripping the seat for dear life. The ship slows down, and the ship hovers in orbit of the planet seen in the hologram previously. Carol got up and headed outside and activating her light thing. She appeared in front of the ship and looked directly at Steve.

"I'll head down for ground recon." She said and turned around, speeding towards the planet. 

Steve stood as everyone else began to move around. He moved to the front and waited for Carol to return when Natasha slunk up behind him. He clutched his compass and looked at her. She gave him a brief smile. "This is gonna work, Steve." 

"I know it will," Steve whispered. He flicked open the compass to see Bucky's photo. He gently thumbed it down to look at Peggy too but when back to Bucky's photo. "Because I don't know what I'm going to do if it doesn't." He added, whispering turning hoarse as his throat closed, remembering the look on Bucky's face three weeks ago when he turned to dust. 

"Steve," Steve looked up and there was Carol, frowning. "No satellites, no ships, no armies, no ground defenses of any kind...it's just him." 

The blue lady stood. "Then that's enough." 

She stood and marched the back end of the ship, gesturing them to all get into a pod. Once they were safely inside, the blue lady - ("What's her name?" Steve muttered and Rhodey responded with "Nebula,") - Nebula launched them to the planet.

Once on the surface, they came up with a plan as Carol lead them to the spot where he was living. It was a big farm in a small hut that he seemed to be in. Steve looked at Thanos whose face was melted and the gauntlet itself melted to his hand.

Carol leaps up and dives inside, causing chaos as they ran after her, following in suite. Bruce was wearing the Hulkbuster armor and he had drilled intot he ground, exploding ontop of Thanos' melted arm. Thor came in and sliced off the gauntlet arm as Rhodey flied in with Rocket, all guns aimed at him.

Steve and Natasha march in after the commotion. Steve looks at Thanos, anger bubbling as Thanos groans in pain. Carol has her arm around his neck, holding steadfast as Rocket shimmies down Rhodey's arm and kicks the sliced off Infinity Gauntlet. 

Everyone stared at it in shock. 

"Oh no," Rocket whispered, looking up.

"Where are they?" Steve demanded. 

Carol tightened her grip. "Answer the question!" 

"The universe required correction," Thanos groaned, wheezing slightly. "After that, the stones served no purpose, beyond temptation." 

Bruce was red in the face as he shouted, "You murdered trillions!" 

"You should be grateful," Thanos seethed. 

"Where are the stones!" Natasha yelled. 

"Gone. Reduced to atoms." Thanos replied. 

"You used them two days ago!" Bruce accused. 

"I used the stones to destroy the stones," Thanos shouted in response. "It nearly...killed me," he winced out the words and Steve examined his melted face. "But the work is done. It always will be." he smiled. "I am...inevitable." Steve looked into his face, looking him over. 

"We have to tear this place apart," Rhodey tried. "He - he - he has to be lying!" 

"My father is many things." Nebula whispered. "A liar is not one of them." 

Thanos looked at her in surprise. "Ah, thank you, daughter," he whispered, sounding pleased. "Perhaps I treated you too harshly." Nebula looked conflicted then for a moment and Steve went to look at her but a sudden burst of lightning and a roar from Thor had him whipping back to Thanos. 

Thor shoved Stormbreaker over Thanos's head and kills him. The head rolled away and Nebula looked physically affected while Thor pulled away. 

"What...what did you do?" Rocket whispered as the body fell with a thud. Carol stepped back and stared at Thor. Thor looked at Thanos's body as conflicted emotion rises in his eyes. Steve didn't know what to say so he waited for Thor to say something - anything - 

"I went for the head." Thor croaked and slowly loped out of the hut. 


	3. FIVE. YEARS. LATER (TONY STARK'S LAKEHOUSE & THE HOUSE & SAN FRANCISCO 2023)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Five Years Later Re imagined

**"Auntie Nat! Auntie Nat!"**

Natasha Romanoff pushed the door of the car shut and turned around, not at all surprised when she was tackled by a small body. "Well hello little _Герой._ " She patted the young girl's head and picked her up. The little girl giggled and laughed, used to her 'Auntie Nat' coming by. 

"Have you found Uncle Clint yet?" The girl giggled, nuzzling into Natasha who kissed the top of her head. 

"Uncle Rhodey is close," Natasha whispered back to her. 

"Okay," the girl was silent for a brief second and then she began to talk. "I rode without tricycles yesterday and I made it all the way down to the lake before I fell and my dad is making this stuff in the garage and mom is always trying to get him out of there - while in fairness she was also trying to get me out of there because I really like the garage as well -" 

"Oh hey Nat," 

Natasha looked up at Tony Stark who was way healthier than five years earlier. "Hey Tony," 

"I didn't know you were dropping by," Tony walked over and gently took Morgan - the little girl - from Natasha's hands and she stuck her hands back in her pockets, smiling warmly at the man. 

"Well, Pepper invited me over. I hear you're having pasta?" she asked. Tony grinned at her and Natasha instinctively smiled back. 

"Come on in then," Tony waved her towards the lake house, keeping Morgan on his hip as he walked back towards the house. He cooed at her as she talked and conversed back with her in the same tone he used with everyone. Natasha smiled and jogged slightly after him, twigs crunching underneath her feet. 

She pushed in through the screen door after Tony and Morgan who was still talking the poor man's ear off and Natasha instantly caught a whiff of spaghetti and meatballs. The kitchen was close and Tony took Morgan upstairs as Natasha swung around to Pepper. 

"Hello Mrs. Stark," Natasha smiled, leaning against the doorframe. 

"Oh, Natasha," Pepper startled slightly but smiled warmly at the agent and quickly corrected her. "So good to see you, and please, it's just Pepper," 

"Well in that case, it's Tasha," Natasha walked forward to hug Pepper and Pepper dropped the pan for a moment, giving Natasha a one - armed hug. 

"So how is everything?" Pepper asked as Natasha moved to the counter. 

She not - so - sneakily grabbed a few noodles and slipped them into her mouth while Pepper gave her a (playfully) dirty look. "Great. Rhodey's looking for Clint in Mexico. Steve's trying to help out the local residents, Carol is helping more planets with the devastation of the Snap, same with Rocket and Nebula." Natasha paused. "Bruce is...still gone. Steve and I found him a while ago but, we never, y'know. Went to see him. I called him once. He seemed adamant on staying away. 

"And Thor, well, he's still off the grid. We think he's in some sort of town, far away from here." Natasha listed off. "We haven't bothered to find him because he seemed pretty torn up after...y'know." Pepper nodded in understanding just as Tony came down with Morgan in a new outfit. It was only then that Natasha remembered that Morgan was wearing a pretty dirty outfit. 

"When is supper going to be ready mama?" Tony asked as he herded Morgan around like a sheep dog, running around in the living room as the girl giggled and kept the game going. 

"Um, probably a few more minutes?" Pepper questioned. "How about you go get cleaned up Morgan," 

"You heard the woman," Tony announced, freezing in his movements. "Let's go, little miss," and then he proceeded to sheep dog Morgan towards the downstairs bathroom. 

Natasha and Pepper chuckled as they watched the interaction before there was another lull in the conversation. 

"He's really good with Morgan," Natasha sighed. 

"So are you," Pepper responded immediately, smiling at Natasha again. Natasha smiled back and turned to the cabinets and pulled out silverware and plates and bowls. She began to wordlessly set the table when Morgan came barreling in, closely followed by Tony. 

Morgan hopped into a seat, squealing nonsense as Tony laughed and sat at a different seat and next to her. Pepper swung over with the huge bowl of spaghetti in the middle of the table. Morgan insisted on Natasha sitting next to her so Natasha complied. 

The conversation was smooth sailing as always. Natasha was making a point to come over to the Stark's at least once a week. The first time she came over, it was three months after the fiasco with Thanos and she went to Tony to apologize. 

That, and she was mostly by herself in the Compound. And Pepper kept insisting on her coming over. 

It was rocky at first; they got angry at each other and for a while Natasha left in a huff. But then one day, Tony pleaded with her to come and Natasha only found out why when she was over at the lake and Tony was having a nervous wreck because he was getting married. 

And then, two months later, the family found out that Pepper had been pregnant since the Snap. 

And when Morgan came, Pepper labeled Natasha as the godmother no matter how hard she protested. But after that, it was easy; hers and Tony's relationship. It was still a little rocky but they both adored Morgan and one thing led to another and soon Natasha was coming over every week. 

They tried to steer clear from Thanos, even though that was practically impossible but they managed. Eventually Natasha managed to slip in little details about the team and for the longest time, Tony didn't respond to it. But then it was fine. 

"So," Pepper turned the conversation from Morgan to Natasha and looked over at her. "How's the Home going?" 

It took Natasha a second before she nodded. "Yeah. Everyone - everyone is doing better. You know, they've had time. They're recovering. Most are refusing to accept it and I tell them it's fine." she started listing off some of the children from the Home that were doing much better and the ones she was still concerned about. 

The Home was created about a year after the Snap when Natasha realized that there were millions of children without parents. She got in touch with what few government leaders there were and set up as many places as she could. 

Parents who lost there kids came and helped the ones who didn't have parents. Natasha at first tried to be in charge of all of them, but everyone else came to her and said she should focus on the one she made locally. 

"You shouldn't be in charge of all of this," the government leader told her. "Not that we don't believe you can't do it, but because there are so many other people willing to help and who can help and you don't need anymore stress in your life." 

Natasha was grateful and she told them so. 

Natasha Romanoff wouldn't leave until late at night, after tucking Morgan in with Tony. They would go with the same routine of Pepper and Tony inviting her over to stay and Natasha declining and leaving. 

She had a family to put back together and a life to salvage. 

"What did you lose?" 

The question wasn't asked harshly but it still stung. 

What did he lose? 

Steve Rogers lost a lot. 

He lost the woman he loved way back when. He lost his best friend twice. He lost another friend twice but he didn't know if he could ever salvage that relationship ever again. 

Steve blinked as he looked at the little girl staring at him. He was in the Home, helping to give a pep talk to the kids that Natasha looked over. 

"I -" he stopped. "What did I lose? I mean, I lost a lot. I'm still losing." He gave a small sigh mixed with a chuckle. "I know it probably doesn't seem that way. Because you know, we're heroes. It doesn't seem like we would lose does it?" 

The ring of five, six, seven, eight year olds nodded in unison around him. 

"Well we did," Steve sat back, staring at the ground. "We lost...we lost to him. And now...well now we just have to move on, don't we?" he looked at the kids and the hard, sad looks he saw broke his heart. "And I'm so sorry - we all are - the Avengers. We're so sorry we lost and you had to lose too. But it happens sometimes. And we just have to pick up the pieces and move on." 

"How do you do that though?" an eight year old boy spoke up, frowning and looking annoyed. He must be one of those kids who just can't let go. "How can we just forget our _parents_ \- ?" he let the question hang in the air and Steve thought it over. 

"I lost my best friend." Steve confided. "Twice. Seeing him turn to dust was the second time. And I just got him back. It's a long story but, it hurt. Seeing that happen. And I'm still trying to accept it and pick up the pieces and move on. Sometimes...sometimes it takes a while. Sometimes you have to let time heal the wounds. Sometimes it's just about time. And letting yourself take the time. Some of you will take a shorter time. Others will take longer. And that's okay." 

"And no matter what," Natasha's voice was soft but even Steve startled at her sneaking up like that. "We'll be here." she continued. "You don't have to do this alone." 

The kids nodded and the eight year old boy looked down, blinking rapidly and it was clear that he was trying not to cry. 

"Alright," Natasha smiled at all of them softly. "Time for bed." 

The kids lined up quietly and left and Steve chased after the eight year old and gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder. The boy sniffed slightly but gave him a smile and left for bed. Steve wanted to tell him something but he was at a lost for words. 

"Let's go to bed ourselves," Natasha murmured and the left the House for the Compound. 

" _Augh!_ " 

Scott Lang lurched forward, gasping as he was released from the Quantum Realm. He shook himself around as he ripped off his helmet. He was plastered against a chain link fence, the van in front of him and a load of other junk around him. He gripped the fence and blinked rapidly, mind whirling. 

"What the hell?" he muttered, sitting up and sweeping away sparks from an electrical failure out of his suit. He shakily got to his feet and looked around, eyes wide and confused. "Hope?" he muttered. No answer. 

Swallowing hard, Scott turned back to the van and examined it, trying to figure out if anything was wrong. Everything looked good but he packed it all up and made sure that no one would find it. His head was still spinning but he had enough common sense to shrug off the suit, find some other clothes and skim them on. 

He looked around and spotted a security camera. He grinned and reached around, looking for something to use. Once he found a paper and wrote HELP! on it, he stared waving and shouting at the camera. 

Eventually a security guard was there, staring at him in shock as he helped Scott get out. 

"Don't let anyone take that okay?" Scott jerked his head to the van that he had packed up and locked away. "I'll be back for it," he packed what he could in a little cart and then quickly hurried out. The guard followed him until the end, still looking at Scott like he was a ghost. 

Scott shook him off and hurried to his hometown which was...absolutely destroyed. 

There were overturned cars, missing posters everywhere, abandoned houses, and other scenes of utter desolation. A dog was on the porch of a house, barking and looking lost. Scott's throat is paper dry and he looks around for any type of person. 

A kid on a bike whizzed past him and on instinct he called out, "Kid! Hey kid!" 

The kid stops his bike and turns around a haunted look on his face that makes Scott stop. He swallowed. "What the hell happened here?" 

The kid gives him a look of confusion on sadness before turning and leaving. Scott follows him for a little bit before coming upon a memorial. Small crowds of people were gathered around the big carved stones.

The memorial is called 'The Vanished' and Scott's heart drops a little bit in fear. He slowly walks around into them and looked around, confusion slowly turning into realization. "Oh no," he muttered, heart plummeting as he saw the words '🇭🇴🇵🇪 🇻🇦🇳 🇩🇾🇳🇪'. He stared at it for a moment when his heart plummets even further and he gasps a little, dropping the handle and running the the 'L' section.

"No. Please. Please, please." he muttered, moving between stones and frantically searching. "No, no, no. No." he nearly ran into someone and muttered an apology. "Excuse me, sorry." they gave him a small sad look that he barely registered. "No, Cassie, no." he kept looking but froze when he saw someone else. 

🇸🇨🇴🇹🇹 🇱🇦🇳🇬

Scott stared. "What?" he whispered.

He squeezed his eyes shut and then opened, searching for a moment but couldn't see Cassie so he runs back to his wagon and then ran to where he last remembered where his house was. His heart was pumping frantically as he let go of the handle to run up the steps to the door. He rang the doorbell, banged on the door, and tried to open it too but it was locked.

Scott opened his mouth to start yelling but stopped when someone appeared at the end of the hallway. He breathed a sigh of relief but it got stuck in his throat as the figure came in closer, revealing a teenage - 15? - year old girl with a shocked expression. It was more of a mixture of shock and fear and relief as she pushed on the screen door. 

Scott stepped back to look at her while she reached for him, her hand pausing mid air. 

"Cassie?" Scott whispered. 

The girl's eyes filled with tears and she took a shaky inhale as she whispered back, "Dad?" 

Scott hesitated for only a minute to look at her, before diving in and hugging her. She hugged him back tightly, crying into his shoulder as he held her close and kissed the side of her head. "You - " Scott laughed. "You're so big!" 

Cassie laughed back, but her laugh sounded suspiciously like a sob. "I thought - I thought I lost you...you never...you never came back-!" 

"I know, I know, I was - I was stuck," Scott pulled away as he tried to explain. "In the Quantum realm - what happened?" 

"Everyone - people - 50% of the world population is what they're saying -" Cassie struggled to form words, swallowing back more sobs and blinking rapidly. "It - It was something - the Avengers couldn't stop it - but they never - never came out on _anything_ \- and I don't - people say that they're helping in areas - there's a home for lost kids who lost their parents - I never went there - well I mean I _did_ , but I never _stayed_ , 'cus I thought -" 

"Woah, Cassie, sweetie, slow down," Scott cupped her face and kissed her forehead. "Just...just tell me what happened to everyone." 

"It - Mom and Paxton," Cassie took a deep breath. "They both...we were having food and eating and watching the TV news when - when they disappeared. They just -! They just disappeared. Turned to dust. And then I tried to contact you but I couldn't get in touch and nobody else was responding either except for one of my other friends who like actually picked up -" 

"So they're gone," Scott's stomach sank and he swallowed. "Okay well, I - I have to go -" 

"No wait!" Cassie reached out for him and he hugged her again. 

"Cassie, you can come with," he whispered. "I just - I have to go to the Avengers. Maybe they can help me fix this," 

"Really?" Cassie looked at Scott, her eyes filled with brief hope. "You - you think you can convince them to do that?" 

"Yeah," Scott nodded. "Yeah...I can do this." 

_I hope I can_ , he thought worriedly as Cassie led him to the car. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [where the idea of nat being auntie nat with morgan came from](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/AW4AYzjsLjJRhr4uDnE9UO9zrXe_3eeys04uyUyCuIbaV-1MUzdaZXY/)
> 
> [where the idea of nat in charge of an orphanage came from](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/842806517747802994/)


End file.
